Page 3 of He's The Reason Why

Piper swallowed hard.

She hadn’t expected to hear the words I’m sorry from Della and have her actually mean them.

She’d expected Della to leap right over the past and on to the future by asking Piper to go along with her scheme to reform The Bellamy Sisters. It was all Della had talked about for the last year—to everyone except Piper.

“If I were you, I’d never forgive me for it either.” Tears glistened in Della’s eyes. “But I hope you can. Someday. Because I really miss my best friend.”

Piper’s chest squeezed so tight she almost couldn’t breathe. Tears poked at her eyes, and prickles of heat filled her belly. She’d imagined a dozen different scenarios and how she’d respond, but she hadn’t planned on this.

Things between her and Della had eased a lot since they’d all come together to help Mattie after nude photos of her had surfaced online. Della had arranged the private jet that brought Mattie home, along with a hideout to keep her away from the media. She’d shown a maturity Piper hadn’t known she possessed, and it impressed her so much she couldn’t help but soften her own attitude. Maybe her little sister was finally growing up.

They’d met for lunch several times since then, and Della called or texted every other day to check in. The fact that Della was still here on the West Coast instead of at her home in New York City seemed more than a little strange in hindsight.

Della loved the nightlife and the crowds, and she craved constant attention. Things in LA were a lot more laid-back on a day-to-day basis. There were so many famous people here that it was easier to go unnoticed if you didn’t stumble onto a tourist spot by accident. Della hadn’t trended on Twitter or Instagram once since she’d brought Mattie back from Seychelles. Five months of silence from the media had to be driving her nuts.

So why hadn’t she gone home?

The simple truth was staring Piper in the face with giant, tear-filled eyes.

Piper’s planned responses all evaporated, and she let her heart speak. “I’m not mad at you. Not anymore, anyway.”

“Really?” Della looked like she didn’t believe her.

Piper sat down and took Della’s hands in hers. “Look. You’ll always be my baby sister. I love you, and I forgive you.”

At the look of doubt on Della’s face, she shrugged in acknowledgment. “Oh, I admit I was furious at the time. I was hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to even talk to me about it first. I thought we told each other everything. So finding out that you could talk to Renic, and not me.” Piper swallowed the lump in her throat. “That kind of thing takes a long time to heal. But I’m over it now. I’ve moved on. You should too. Okay?”

Della sniffed and squeezed Piper’s hands. “I’m really,reallysorry. You’re right. I should have had the guts to talk about it with you. It won’t ever happen again. From now on, we share everything, even the painful bits. I swear.”

Piper swiped away a rogue tear and held out her pinkie. “Pinkie swear?”

Della wrapped her pinkie around Piper’s, and they shook. “Pinkie swear.”

“Good.” Piper’s heart felt lighter than it had in a long time. She held her arms out for a hug.

Della dove into her, and they squeezed each other. “I’ve missed this so much.”

“Me too, DellBell. Me too.”

“I can’t wait for the next tour. It’ll be just like old times.”

Piper froze. “What did you say?”

Della pulled back so that she could look Piper in the face. Her smile was so bright it would light up the Vegas Strip. “I can’t wait to be back on stage with you and Mattie. She’s working on new songs for us, and Renic says he can put together an epic world reunion tour.”

Piper jerked her head back in disbelief. Della’s vision for the future…herfuture…might as well have been a slap to her face.

Dammit, she’d been expecting this question, but not like this. Not after Della had softened her up by saying sorry.

The apology had been heartfelt and sincere, and not a damn thing had changed. Della still wanted what she wanted, and she’d only apologized as a means to an end.

“You’re unbelievable.” Piper pushed away from her.

“What?” Della’s smile faltered. “Worried about a tour? We won’t do it until your project is done. I know how important that movie is to you.”

“I’m not worried about a damn world tour.” Piper’s building irritation festered as her sister scrambled to backtrack. “Guess why that is.”

“I just thought…I mean, you said…I…” Della shook her hands out. “Come on. I said I was sorry. Iamsorry.”

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